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So far, I am not impressed. At least, for this to cost $1/gr, it is not worth it. The cheaper gyokuro (Premium) is worth it and tastes better. So far. I’m still hoping I can figure out if I’m using bad steeping parameters. I used 1.5 tsp for about 4oz water. The previous trials tasted weak, so I felt like I needed to up the amount of leaf.

The wet leaf gave off a really nice aroma of greens and a strong note of mashed potatoes. That may sound strange, but it really smelled delicious.

However, the actual tea wasn’t very sweet, didn’t have any marine, vegetal, or umami flavors present…. it actually didn’t have much flavor at all. Except one, that was…. starchy mashed potatoes.
Ok, as a smell, it was great, but as the main taste of the tea….not so good. :-(
If that had been a flavor that was present but gave way to the main tastes that are more typical of Japanese greens, that would have been fine.
I haven’t given up hope on this, as it really seems like it should be good; all the right elements are present (at least, according to Hibiki-an).

This is REALLY good.
It was the perfect amount of sweetness, smooth umami and marine notes, and ended with a very very slight vegetal/melon flavor that was perhaps (pleasingly) astringent. It was mellow and had an underlying, delicious grain flavor as well.

The best words I could use to describe this are mellow or refined. It tastes like a perfect gyokuro that is toned down and improved. I am surprised I like this so much more than their “pinnacle” version (this is machine cut, their pinnacle is hand picked!). Perhaps I used a better amount of leaf. Or maybe I am simply used to the Yabukita species of leaf…
Either way, I was very impressed by this. I can tell it has been aged (but has improved over time!), which I am surprised about.

That last note, that I described as vegetal/melon/almost astringent was hard for me to describe, but it was really delicious and rounded it off very nicely.
After these 2 steepings, I would say it’s definitely one I’d get again. My impression could change with time, but this is a fun and delicious variety of green worth trying.

Yesterday I had this via the ice-brew method (shinobi cha… patient tea).
It was of course delicious; the only way you can go wrong with this method is if you use only a little ice and it ends up being too strong for you. And, of course, if you wanted something warm. Anyway, on to the tea itself…

Well, I can’t remember the exact unique flavor this had, but besides being very deliciously sweet, and (even) noticeably creamy, there was some other taste present I couldn’t figure out. But it was yummy, trust me.

However, the jury’s definitely still out whether this one is worth the price. Is it really THAT much better as to cost nearly twice as much as Den’s or Bird Pick’s Gyokuro?
We’ll see…

This was the last of the sample. I could see this becoming a semi-regular tea for me.
Not only is it one of the more reasonably priced senchas of this company, but it’s mild (yet not weak) and flavorful.
It does well at different temps, is easy to brew, and would be a very good introduction (in my opinion) to Japanese greens. Thumbs up.

EDIT
Interesting!! I just found a huge connection between ATR teas and Ito-En teas!
Looks like if you’re interested in Japanese greens from ATR, Ito-en carries the same ones far cheaper! (This seems like more than coincidence… I would guess Ito-en is their supplier)

Check this out:
1) ATR’s “River of Heaven” http://www.lepalaisgourmet.com/river-of-heaven-tea.html
And Ito-en’s “Ama-no-gawa” http://www.itoen.com/leaf/index.cfm?sp=product&catID=7&id=267
2) ATR’s “Kabusecha Plum” http://www.lepalaisgourmet.com/kabusecha-plum-tea.html
and Ito-en’s “Gion” http://www.itoen.com/leaf/index.cfm?sp=product&catID=7&id=273
3) ATR’s “Lavender Sencha” http://www.lepalaisgourmet.com/lavender-sencha-tea.html
and Ito-en’s “Lavender Sencha” http://www.itoen.com/leaf/index.cfm?sp=product&catID=7&id=65
4) ATR’s “Yame Gyokuro” http://www.lepalaisgourmet.com/yame-gyokuro-tea.html
and Ito-en’s “Yame Gyokuro” http://www.itoen.com/leaf/index.cfm?sp=product&catID=3&id=12 (Ito-en is $50 cheaper for 2oz!!)
5) ATR’s “Honyama Sencha” http://www.lepalaisgourmet.com/honyama-sencha-tea.html
and Ito-en’s “Honyama Sencha” http://www.itoen.com/leaf/index.cfm?sp=product&catID=3&id=4 (Ito-en is $25 cheaper for 3 oz!!)
6) ATR’s “Earl Grey Sencha” http://www.lepalaisgourmet.com/earl-grey-sencha-tea.html
and Ito-en’s “Early Grey Sencha” http://www.itoen.com/leaf/index.cfm?sp=product&catID=7&id=66
(The descriptions are almost the same!)
7) ATR’s “Vanilla Hojicha” http://www.lepalaisgourmet.com/vanilla-hojicha-green-japanese-tea.html and Ito-en’s “Vanilla Hojicha” http://www.itoen.com/leaf/index.cfm?sp=product&catID=7&id=67
(Their Genmaicha and Genmaimatcha’s also look the same)

Their suggested parameters (170 for 1 minute) make for good flavors, but a very weak infusion. So was the 1st infusion.

On the 2nd, I wanted to see if I could bring the flavors out more strongly…
I did 190 for the same amount of time (1 minute)… I knew there was a chance it would be bitter, but thought it worth the chance…..

It was fairly awesome! Slightly bitter/sweet, like a sencha but without the vegetal qualities (which, I normally enjoy, but it was fun to have one that tastes more grainy, or like corn or barley tea). Definitely try this at higher temps, as it is really good!

Though the taste was muted for the first 2 steepings (2g tea for 2-3oz water; 140 for 2 minutes, then 160 for 1 min), it had a very smooth, sweet taste. I say ‘muted’ rather than ‘weak’, because the flavor was really good and seemed like it could simply be brought out if I steeped it differently.

I did the 3rd steeping with ice; the flavor was much more pronunced. There was a hint of grain, a noticeable (pleasant) texture, and it was even sweeter.
The brewed leaves were a neally nice shade of dark green and large (though, not all whole)… it was hard to dump them out. I think gyokuros have the most beautiful brewed leaves, this one was at the top. It is hard for me to dump most any leaves, but this one was all the harder.
I just have a small amount (maybe 12 more grams), so I look forward to a few more cups and seeing if I can bring out the flavor more.

The taste of this has grown on me, I do enjoy it more. The first steep has a very noticeable caramel flavor (as expected); but after that it fades a bit and blends with/gives way to a nice green butteriness.

I really liked this tea, but I’m not sure what to rate it yet. I’m going to have to have a few more cups.

I did taste the ‘maize’ flavor they describe, and there was another, very strong flavor present but I couldn’t put my finger on it…yet. I couldn’t taste that this was extraordinarily different than other senchas (with the ‘wood roasted’ finish they say makes it unique), but perhaps that will come out later.

Overall, it was a pleasant, comforting, yummy cup.

The first infusion is really incredibly creamy and sweet, not a hint of bitter at all.
The 2nd and 3rd are still good, but the distinctness of the first infusion disappears. I am trying to compare this closely to Den’s Gyokuro Suimei; so far I am more impressed by this one (Bird Pick, but again, on the 1st infusion only). Den’s seems to have a more vegetal/marine quality to it, which I like. After the 1st, both teas become very similar and hard to distinguish (but both very good). I will have to continue to try both and see if I can tell any other differences or if my tastes change.

Very nice fruit-like flavors, with a slight roastedness at the end.
I was expecting/hoping for a more houjicha-like roasted flavor, but perhaps that would have killed all the nice fruit flavors.
It can supposedly go 7 infusions, perhaps if one uses all 7g from the pack (I just had this 1 sample), but I split it so I could try it twice, using perhaps ~3g the first time and ~4g the second. It seems like after 5 infusions, it didn’t have enough flavor to continue (though I did go to 7).

I’m not sure whether I liked this or the modern green more, but it was very enjoyable.
Going to have to keep trying different Oolongs to see if I find one that I love as much as Japanese greens. So far the closest contender has been pricey – Phoenix Yellow Stone Oolong.

The biggest surprise is that out of 3 samples, I was really excited to try this TGY (charcoal) and the TGY (modern green), while the real sample originally offered was Yunnan Golden Bud…. However, in the end, the Yunnan Golden Bud was my favorite!!

A big thanks to Gingko for the free samples! (Btw, I realized that you DIDN’T duplicate the samples…. I originally thought the Charcoal Roast was going to be packaged in the Red bag, and the Modern Green II in the Green bag, but it was in fact opposite).